Indian arrested for dud cheques after 4 years

He was arrested in Doha last week

A computer engineer, who switched profession to real estate, was arrested in Doha last week for the dud cheques he issued while living in Abu Dhabi.

AT, from Tamil Nadu, India, left Abu Dhabi four years ago after securing a top-tier management job with an IT giant in India. He got arrested as he landed in Doha to take up a new job in Qatar. He was handed over to the UAE authorities, according to legal sources.

According to his friends and family, AT was lured into the lucrative business of real estate by a friend while he was working in Abu Dhabi. The duo had taken many villas and apartments in the Mushrif area for lease, and had sub-let them to tenants.

The villas were leased under AT’s name and he had handed over cheques to his friend who promised to run the business for him. As per legal sources, the friend misused the cheques for his personal needs, which landed AT in trouble.

“The friend also partitioned the villas and apartments against the municipality rules and regulations, and he ignored several warnings issued by the municipality officials,” said the legal source.

When Abu Dhabi municipality issued a legal notice to AT and he failed to appear before the authorities, an arrest warrant was issued in his name. According to the source, AT’s family has filed a case against his business partner and he is also currently under police custody.

MA, a close friend of AT, who requested anonymity, said everyone dissuaded him from giving his resignation and investing into real estate. “But he was convinced that he could mint money,” said MA.

“We were all happy for him as he was making money out of his rental business. But his arrest came as shock. I think he made the mistake of leaving the country and entrusting the financial dealings to someone else,” MA added.